


Another Day, Another Puppy

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Future AU, Puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 03:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13673175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: Grant may be retired from SHIELD, but that doesn't mean he takes it easy.Especially when his job solely involves dogs now.





	Another Day, Another Puppy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jellybean96](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/gifts).



“Hey, Mr. Grant, there are some new dogs in.”

Grant looked up and blinked from counting the bags of dog food on the shelves to see the young man standing in the doorway, “Oh, there are?” he asked. “I didn’t think that we weren’t getting any until tomorrow, Chase.”

Chase shrugged, “They came in early. They’re already situated in their kennels if you want to come look at them.” he stated. “There’s only five of them. Four adult dogs and a puppy.”

Sighing, Grant placed down his clipboard and turned around, “Sure. I could use a break from inventory for a bit.” He started to follow the young worker out of the room.

“Say, if you run this place, why do you fool with things like inventory?” Chase asked as they walked towards the kennels. “Wouldn’t you have someone else do that?”

“Well, we don’t have a whole lot of workers here and it helps to pass the time.” Grant began to explain. “So I don’t mind it. And it helps me know what I really do need to order when order day comes.”

“Oh, okay. And, if you don’t mind me asking, why’d you leave such a high-paying job in SHIELD to come run a small shelter?”

Grant chuckled, stopping right outside the kennels door, “You sure are full of questions today. But, I decided that it was time to retire from that life.” he answered. “And I am getting old. I’m 56 for God’s sakes. SHIELD’s no place for a old man like me.”

Chase blinked, looking Grant over. Other than Grant’s salt and pepper hair, the gray in his stubble, and the few wrinkles under his eyes, Grant really didn’t look all that old to him. But, then again Chase did remember hearing something about him being an Inhuman, so that might have something to do with it.

“My kids are in their first year at SHIELD and my wife is helping to run the gifted sector at the Academy. They can handle things there on their own.” Grant continued, placing his hands in his pockets. “I’ve had a hard life. I think I deserve a nice retirement.”

“Oh, that sounds good.” Chase opened the door and held it for Grant. “Uh, sorry for asking.”

“I don’t mind.” Grant stated, taking the door from the boy. “Maybe I’ll tell you the full story one day. It’s, uh, pretty long.”

“Alright.”

Grant went in and immediately headed towards the kennels were the newer dogs were kept. He hoped that they would get good homes within the next few days, knowing that none of them deserved to be here.

Now, Grant prided himself on the fact that he ran a successful no-kill shelter. He loved the fact that he was giving all these dogs a second chance. Maybe this was his purpose in life after all. After his own second chance all those years ago Grant never knew what he was meant to do, even after twenty more years as a SHIELD agent. Honestly Grant believed this was his true calling.

Grant rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks, seeing a puppy in the first kennel. One of the kennel hands laughed at the sight.

“Hey, Chase! I told you that you really didn’t need to tell Grant about the new dogs right now!” he exclaimed. “You know how he feels about shepherds! Especially since we haven’t had a shepherd puppy in a while!”

Grant blinked and leaned in front of the kennel, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “Hey there little guy.” he cooed. “Come here.” He stared at the puppy, immediately deciding that he was taking that puppy home with him today. 

The young puppy cowered and whimpered. It was a black German shepherd, whom of which Grant swore looked just like his old dog Max who had passed away over a decade ago. If reincarnation existed, Grant believed that this was the purest example of just that. 

Grant stood up and gently went inside of the kennel, closing the door behind him and carefully sitting on the ground. He turned to face the whimpering puppy and gently held out a hand towards him, “Hey there, boy. Come here, I won’t hurt you.” he whispered. “I just wanna say hi.”

The puppy whimpered again and slowly walked towards Grant’s outstretched hand, his tail between his legs. Once he got to Grant’s hand, he sniffed it and eventually started to lick it, causing Grant to smile. Grant carefully reached out and picked the little guy up in one hand and gently sat him in his lap. The puppy whimpered once more, but Grant was quick to soothe him. 

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” Grant cooed, gently stroking the young shepherd right between the ears. “If things go right, I’m definitely taking you home.” He unlocked his phone and clicked Skye’s icon, “I might just have to do some convincing to get my wife to say yes.”

He held the phone to his ear and Skye answered after a few rings.

_ “Hello? Grant? Is everything okay?” _

“Yeah.” he answered. “I just have a quick question.”

_ “Did you find another dog that you wanna bring home?” _

Grant’s stomach dropped and heat quickly rose to his cheeks, “Uh, yeah? But you’ve got to hear me out, Skye.”

_ “Grant, we already have Aster and Rosie. Why do we need one more?”  _ she asked.  _ “And don’t tell me it’s because the kids are finally out of the house.” _

“He looks just like Max.”

_ “Oh.”  _ Skye immediately knew that there wouldn’t be any talking Grant out of this. Grant had been devastated for a long time when Max passed away, so something like this was probably a Godsend for him.  _ “Uh, how old is he?” _

“I don’t know. We just got him in. Probably nine or ten weeks at the least. He’s still small.” Grant answered, continuing to stroke the puppy. “But he’s exactly like Max and I love him. But this time around he’ll just be a dog. He doesn’t have to be a service dog this time.”

_ “This time? You’re acting like he’s been reincarnated.” _

“I’m telling ya’, Skye, it’s his second life. So, can I bring him home?”

A few long seconds passed before Skye finally sighed in resignation,  _ “Fine. Just make sure that Aster and Rosie like him. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.” _

“Nice. See you then. Love you.”

_ “Love you, too.” _

Grant ended the call and placed the phone into his jacket pocket, returning his attention back to the puppy, “You hear that?” he asked. “You’re coming home with me. You don’t have to stay here at all.” He stood up and carefully cradled the shepherd close to his chest, walking out of the kennel.

The kennel hand raised an eyebrow, “That’s probably the world record for the fastest dog adoption. But I already knew you were going to take that guy.” he stated. 

Grant smiled, “I had a dog like this, but he passed away a little over a decade ago.” he answered, keeping the puppy close. “He was my service dog, so we were incredibly close.”

“Service dog?” Chase asked, coming up to join the two.

“I, uh, had… No, I still have some mental issues stemming from a bad childhood and a few other things that happened within SHIELD.” Grant stated sheepishly. “I was bad off for a while and Max was who made it better. I’m telling you this is his reincarnated self.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” the hand commented. “But I’m sure he’ll be a great puppy.”

Grant frowned and looked at the puppy, carefully studying him, “I’ve always wanted a dog named Ryder. And you definitely look like a Ryder. So you’re Ryder!” he exclaimed, causing the puppy to look up at him. He smiled again, “Let’s get you checked out by the vet so I can bring you home.” He turned from the other two men and started to walk out of the kennels.

“You have two older siblings at home. Your human siblings are away on missions, I think.” he continued. “But you’ll be happy, I promise. You don’t deserve to stay here any longer.” Grant kissed the top of the puppy’s head and held him closer.

“And don’t worry, Skye’ll love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is based from the same universe that the last Puppy Bowl fic was in. Basically here, Grant retired after twenty or so years at SHIELD and somehow ended up running a dog shelter once his kids were officially SHIELD agents. And of course he would adopt any dog he would want to. I hoped that you enjoyed!


End file.
